We are delighted to share insights and experiences from the hybrid MARLANDS art residency that took place last week. The first part of the residence was based on a series of online meetings. To deepen their research and improve their proposals, our selected artists, under careful coordination of the curators Elena Posokhova, @elena_maritima Mariagrazia Pontorno, @mariagraziapontorno and Vince Briffa @vincebriffa met representatives from our partner institutions, local artisans and international scientists.
Edgar Sarin @lamediterranee666 met with Dr. Joseph A. Borg and Dr. Reuben Grima from the University of Malta. They discussed Maltese water conversation and archeology. In his residency, Edgar will create an in-situ amphora “Ba’al”, which will recall the history of the island and highlight contemporary challenges to water access.
Photo: Reuben Grima (Water, geomythology and cosmology in late Neolethic Malta)_ground water flowing along a bedding plane.
Lucy Orta @lucyjorgeorta met the ceramists that preserve the local traditions on Malta, Sicily and Mallorca in order to make the sculptures from her drawings through tight collaboration with those ceramists. Thanks to this, Lucy aims to transmit the features of each island, while using the local techniques and materials.
Also, as part of her “Lost Species” project, she had a rich discussion about the endangered animal species on those islands with Maite Vázquez-Luis, a marine scientist from Mallorca.
In a conversation with Maite Vázquez-Luis, a senior researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and the IEO, the Oceanographic Center of the Balearic Islands, Lucy and Maite discussed endangered species on the islands where she’ll be working and changing ecologies due to climate change.
photo above: Arina Antonova’s ‘No Name’ project (ceramist from Mallorca)
Max Fouchy @maxfouchy met with scientists, artisans, and designers to discuss possible ways to implement his project, which will imagine a second life for plastic bottles.
He spoke with Magda Masano, a ceramist from Sicily and the founder of the ceramics studio Folk, as well as with Enrica Arena, the founder of Orange Fiber @orangefiberbrand, the world’s first brand to produce sustainable fabrics from citrus juice by-products.
Above: Magda Masano from Folk, Orange Fiber
Then, Laboo’s founder Mario Condorelli @labooproject - an innovative startup that develops sustainable materials through new production processes - joined Max to brainstorm ways to bring his project to life.
Interesting meeting on the same day was this with Daniela Tramacere, the head of Precious Plastic @realpreciousplastic, which aims to create an alternative global recycling system. Daniela Tramacere, head of Office Apulia, shared with Max useful information on the different types of plastic and methods of reuse.
photo above: Machine ‘Shredder-Pro’ by Precious Plastic
Taylor Smith @taylorsmithart met with Magdalena Vicens Fornés, a conservation biologist at the Sóller Botanical Garden in Mallorca @botanicsoller to discuss her proposal, “Capture and Release: Cartographia Refugia”. During her residency, Taylor will investigate the fragility of endemic plant communities in Mallorca threatened by climate change, via a series of poetic in-situ interventions. Taylor also spoke with the marine scientist Jose Rafael Garcia March, the Scientific Coordinator of IMEDMAR-UCV (The Institute for Research in Climate and Marine Science at The Catholic University of Valencia) @imedmar_ucv. They discussed marine life and the increasing fragility of marine ecosystems.
Klitsa Antoniou spoke with marine biologist Jose Rafael Garcia March about rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and the risks of desertification in Cyprus. Klitsa’s installation “Hydor-Is-land” will bridge coastal and marine landscapes in Cyprus through sound, video, and site-specific sculptures.
The MARLANDS curator and founder, Elena Posokhova @elena_maritima, who facilitated and organised each of these meetings between artists and scientists, moderated this week of discussions and collaborations.
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